Synopsis

Set in a shadowy, old-world landscape, the video follows a young man as he is led toward an execution by hanging. Two women connected to him appear in parallel, moving through fields and woods while mourning their shared fate. Romantic gestures, poison, flowers, branches, and a willow tree create an atmosphere of doomed devotion. Rather than explaining the circumstances directly, the video unfolds like a gothic folk ballad brought to life, blending ritualistic imagery, supernatural suggestion, and stark tableaux of love, death, and transformation.

Factoids & Trivia

• "Gallows" appears on CocoRosie's fourth studio album, "Grey Oceans," released in 2010. The track runs for approximately four and a half minutes.

• The production credits list Mia Mala McDonald as cinematographer, with Chris Dapkins credited for the US cinematography. The editing was handled by Emma Freeman and Rodrigo Balart.

• The video's visual language draws heavily on dark Victorian and gothic folk imagery, matching the song's references to gallows, graves, flowers, branches, and a willow tree.

• The narrative deliberately leaves the man's crime and the exact relationship between the three central characters unexplained. This ambiguity has encouraged viewers to read the video as a tragic love triangle, a supernatural mourning ritual, or a story about forbidden devotion.

• "Gallows" was the second CocoRosie video made with the same creative team after "Lemonade." The collaboration continued with later videos including "We Are On Fire" and "Child Bride."

• The official video was released in November 2010, shortly after "Grey Oceans" appeared. It became one of the more widely circulated visual pieces associated with the album.

• The combination of theatrical costumes, rural locations, ghostly imagery, and restrained movement gives the clip the feeling of a miniature silent film rather than a conventional performance video.